The Philippine Basketball Association is planning to make some adjustments to its upcoming season due to the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
The league is planning to hold the games of the season opener Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said Tuesday he has been in constant communication with Antipolo’s local government to discuss the setup of what would be a closed-circuit tournament or a “semi-bubble”.
In the semi-bubble, the players and team officials are to strictly follow a home-arena-home travel format.
League officials earlier said they were supposed to hold the Philippine Cup semi-bubble at an arena in Metro Manila.
However, with the recent spike in Covid-19 cases, they opted to have it instead at the Ynares Center, which is in an area under the most lenient modified general community quarantine.
The setup will still need to be approved by the Games and Amusements Board , the Philippine Sports Commission, and the Department of Health.
The GAB has long been insisting to hold professional sports matches inside a full bubble.
Meanwhile, Marcial also said the season opener might be pushed back for a few more days as the league awaits approval for the teams to finally play scrimmages.
The plan is to begin the PBA season on April 18.
This means the recently drafted rookies have an extra week to get along with their new teammates and coaches.*PNA
